10.29.2013

All the high elves are done, but I am working out the backlog of pictures. Next up is the lord of the orange and white, riding a griffon. He is so important he has four burning blue balls!!

Since this is a character, some extra effort was put in than the eagles and troopers. The wingtips got some striping, many colours got an extra tone, and the browns were washed with more care. I am pretty happy with the result.

This mini still looks slightly off, which I think is due to the front claws being too long compared the the hind legs. The front legs are almost twice as long as its back legs...weird...

There is word that more elves are on their way, and the commission will continue. Much like a certain space marine chapter I know.

10.26.2013

The second unit of swordmasters are of the old metal variety. It is well known that I prefer metal casts due to the durability, sharp detail and reassuring weight, but I have to admit that the newer plastics are far better (for this unit at least). It was interesting to experience the evolution of certain details on the two sculpts. They are similar enough to be recognizable as the same unit, but a lot of things are more defined with more variance (the standard bearer is plastic). I would field the two units mixed (each half plastic and half metal). The burning blue ball returns on the back of the champion's cloak, but the camera is dying so no photographic evidence this time.

Until next round, be well.

PS- A new camera has been donated, ending this horrible predicament, and with twice the megapixels. You should see them, megapixels are so cute...

There is an ancient tale of the Legions of Gog and Magog, daemonic hordes that roamed the lands of men before the counting of years. The legions were trapped behind mountainous gates by a certain emperor of men, but their spoor carries on. The bloodlines of Magog are favoured by Lord Tzaanitekis, and those who prove themselves worthy may ride at his side. The Princes are known throughout the lands of the Empire and dwarfs for being unstoppable killers.

The original regiment of five was bolstered, and after careful counting, grew to a twelve-strong unit of chaos knights. I touched up the veterans a little, but not by much. The new recruits were already painted quite well by the hobbyist I inherited them from. (If you know Pauly, you would know the awesome he puts into his models, and he is one of the people I have had the pleasure to learn from.) I switched up the standard and musician and put some blue on the armour plates. All the weapons were repainted to have a dark/glowing/magical effect.

The few games I have played have seen the 13 destroy everything they touch, and trees being the few reliable things to take any down. I equip them with the banner that grants a ward save against shooting and magic so if the armour fails Tzeentch may be favourable to them (and often is!)

The command section. It seems that the champion rarely gives any orders, although the knights are a superfluous bodyguard, but they can still be nasty without the lord.

And I will part with a couple of shots of Lord Tzaanitekis, the Prophet of the Bird-God, Slayer of Cities, and The Heir of Magog.

10.25.2013

The high elves are rolling along with the bowmen unit finished. This unit has lots of white and orange, due to the lack of armour, but I also snuck in a light blue on the pants to keep the tones right. I also got around to doing up all the movement trays. These posts are a little late, as I have been painting like a madman, but the whole army is ready for Kipper's Melee (the deadline). I will be posting the rest of the units soon.

10.20.2013

The high elves continue, this time up is the battle standard bearer. This model is yet more plastic goodness for those of us that like painting details. My biggest challenge on this model was layering the oranges so they didn't bleed into each other.

There is a fair bit of gold on this model, and it is a good showcase for my gold process. (I find most of the metallics I see are rather flat, or simply have a wash over a basecoat.) Metal should be painted like any other colour in order to force the shine with highlights. I start with a basecoat of dark gold (Gehenna's gold GW), then add a flesh wash to achieve some shadowing and fill the deep lines. A mid tone is applied over most of the gold areas (Aulric armour GW) and an extreme highlight on the very edges (radiant platinum p3).

10.18.2013

No high elf army is complete without a couple of great eagles. These were probably the easiest and fastest models to paint in the whole list, mostly drybrushing and washes.

When I use washes on models this size (and on feathers in general) I try to use my washes sparingly. The main tricks are to place the wash at the visible beginning of the feather, then wiping off excess on the raised areas (or returning the a drybrush of the previous colour). This will separate each 'row' of feathers and give the wings more visual appeal.

The new sculpts are nice, not stunning or spectacular, but they are just eagles so I am glad they don't have a ton of spikes and skulls. I am still not sold on the new flying sticks with the ball joints. Yes they are easier to pose (like the old landspeeder stands) but the model has a hard time staying perched. The only idea I have had to remedy this is to put a small amount of 'ardcoat on the ball, let it dry, and re-fit. This seems to work, as the varnish should be clear, but the model could get stuck if too much is used.

10.17.2013

Of the recent additions to the chaos horde, a second shaggoth has been added to the glorious host. The new one, Garth, sports two hand weapons made from minotaur axes and his old two-handed one he came with.

The shaggoth is a great model, especially for when it was sculpted, but he is rather....flat. It would be really difficult to change his pose without some serious sawing and putty. He is still a big scary model though!

10.16.2013

Here is the third character for the high elf commission, a loremaster. It seems the nice elves got themselves a warrior-mage type character in the new book (I rarely play fantasy these days so I don't have a clue). But I do like the sculpt, he looks pretty bad-ass.

With more time I would have done up a bit of freehand on his cloak, find a way to put the burning blue ball on his cloak or something, but these elves are needed at the Kipper's Melee which is fast approaching. It will be nice to have a freshly painted army for a local tournament!

I am growing more fond of the new high elf sculpts, even the ones from the starter box. They have much more movement to them and better/more nice elf bling. Proof that GW's plastic sets are moving forward (even the "bad" ones have massive conversion potential).

The old camera has not been cooperating of late, which is my excuse for for the lack of posts around here. But not to worry, the brushes have been busy (as my brushes often are these days!) Continuing along with the High Elves, the thirty man block of spearmen is table-ready.

This was a gruelling unit to get through. Lots of white, on lots of models, and a fair chunk of time. I am liking the blue accents to the orange, and the way the gold melts into the orange as well. And I managed to sneak the burning blue ball on the standard for some cohesion.

This unit marks the halfway point of the army (so far), but there is still a couple of units and some monsters to go.